Golfito, Costa Rica ? The mother of slain Kansas University student Shannon Martin made the office of Oscar Quiros her first stop when she arrived here this week.

Quiros is the director of KU’s study abroad program in Golfito. Martin’s mother had some hard questions for him.

“I just want to know why more wasn’t done for the students in Golfito after Shannon’s murder and why more is not being done now,” said Jeanette Stauffer, whose daughter was slain last May while walking to her host family’s home.

In fact, the focus on safety for students in this Central American coastal town has increased since the slaying, Quiros said, and students have continued to enroll in KU’s program.

“What we have done is to include a talk from the embassy; the consulate general has an interesting short talk,” Quiros said. “I think they pay more attention now because of Shannon’s death.”

Not so, said one current student who declined to be identified.

“They give the talk at night,” the student said. “I felt tired and didn’t really care because I was so excited and nervous being in Costa Rica for the first time.”

And another student: “During the orientation we go to a lot of fun places, but really nothing is mentioned about unsafe places. You hear what happened, but I’m not that worried.”

Orientation program

According to Quiros, a two-week orientation program starts as soon as students arrive. It includes information about Costa Rican culture, society and history.

“We talk about how to behave, what’s acceptable, how to talk to the host family,” he said. Students sign a form about risks and safety precautions, such as not to walk anywhere alone.

“But we don’t tell anybody not to go to any neighborhood,” Quiros said.

For his part, Quiros thinks of Golfito as his hometown, a peaceful place where he has lived most of his life.

“I don’t know where the dangerous places are because I am not involved with those types of people,” he said.

Martin was slain in May 2001. She was in Golfito, not with the study abroad program but finishing up research before graduating with honors from KU. During the spring of 2000, Martin had spent six months in Golfito researching ferns and spider monkeys.

After winning a KU scholarship to return last year, Martin completed her final exams early so she could finish her work before graduation. She was here only two days before being stabbed to death while walking home from a bar.

When the 23-year-old Martin returned to this steamy port town, Quiros said, “she wasn’t one of my students when she came here; she didn’t have to report to me.”

Still, as director of the program, he said, “I felt responsible up to a certain point. Basically you give them guidelines. I’m not a baby-sitter. They are in control of their lives.”

‘Gave them options’

After Martin was slain, though, Quiros said KU officials had asked students whether they wanted counseling.

“They said no and just wanted to take their finals,” he said. “We gave them the option to return home with incompletes.”

Study abroad students aren’t the only Americans here. Of Golfito’s population of about 17,000, about 15 percent are American expatriates. Among them is Katie Duncan, a Golfito businesswoman.

“We have lived here for several years,” Duncan said. “We sailed here and stopped because it was such a beautiful place, we loved the people, and we felt safe.”

She and other Americans have helped post fliers around Golfito to raise awareness of a reward fund for information in Martin’s slaying. Publicizing the reward is one of Stauffer’s reasons for being here this week. Earlier this month, Stauffer said the reward for information leading to a conviction had increased to nearly $50,000.

“The fact is people are not talking about it, but if you ask, everyone seems to know,” Duncan said.

Duncan said she had never felt threatened in Golfito.

“Petty theft is a way of life here, but I would never give any idea that bodily harm would happen,” Duncan said. “There’s rumor that certain guys will kill people for money. It’s when you hear that, you realize you’re not in Kansas.”